Discuss lifestyle changes to better survive disasters. This category is for topics pertaining to being self reliant such as DIY, farming, alternative energy, autonomous solutions to water collection and waste removal, etc.

Shotzee wrote:Anybody have experience with Modular homes? The GF and I are looking at buying a plot of land about 10 acres and having a prefab home built.

We're looking at a bungalow with a basement.

Potentially looking at land with wood for energy sources. Water for water mills and/or storing water on an elevation to store energy. Geothermal heating. Wind turbines etc.

There are SO many options out there now with pre-fab homes.

Sorry cant help you with the house design other than I helped a friend build a container house.

Just a word of warning, buying property with water on it means you generally have to do impact tests and stuff on it. I looked into buying a SUPER cheap 15 acre plot a few years ago. was only about 150 foot wide but it was VERY long and had a decent drop. The problem was only about 1 acre was usable land the rest was considered wetland. Geothermal is interesting, however unless you live next to a volcano. Your geothermal will most likely be a trench dug into the ground to keep you cool in the summer, but in the winter it usually is only about 56 degrees. So you'll need to add a heat pump and exchange into it and they are rather expensive.

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Spazzy wrote:Tell ya what... If Zombies attack and the world ends I'll hook tandem toddlers to a plow if it means I'll be able to eat...

Modular homes are great. My father lives in one. And a good friend turned a 100k piece of property into 300k simply by putting a modular home on it. Long story. But they are great. And affordable. Evergreen iirc in WA state makes great ones.

I've even looked into mobile homes. And have stayed in a couple of nice ones. I'd live in one of those no problem if it was a temp thing until I got a modular built. I'd rather invest in land. Than a house that wasn't built for you. Or not in this era.

"Ideas are more dangerous than guns. We don't let our people have guns. Why would we let them have ideas?" Josef Stalin

Have you looked into SIP? The energy efficiency can be pretty great, though initial costs may be too high; the impression I gathered when I looked a few years back was that SIP prices were less variable than stick-built, so a better deal in areas with relatively high housing costs.

There is a wide disparity in what is considered a modular home. The high end ones are virtually indistinguishable from a stick built home. The low end is still a lot better than even the best mobile home built in the 90's.

The builders are also facing high demand due the hurricanes this year. Prices and availability may be limited.

Be sure to check any property restrictions. In my area many places significantly limit the ability to put in a mobile home and that definition may apply to manufactured homes.

Shotzee wrote:Anybody have experience with Modular homes? The GF and I are looking at buying a plot of land about 10 acres and having a prefab home built.

We're looking at a bungalow with a basement.

Potentially looking at land with wood for energy sources. Water for water mills and/or storing water on an elevation to store energy. Geothermal heating. Wind turbines etc.

There are SO many options out there now with pre-fab homes.

1. I AM THRILLED THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL AROUND POSTING.
2. My wife and I are looking into this as an option. I will be moving to northern AZ for a Flight Paramedic job in a few months, and the pre-fab homes look like a great option. I am leaning towards the steel home kits, as they look easy enough to build on my own without labor costs.

Its hard to find the right property. I can tell you that its best to find land with grid power available. It can be hard to get a loan without it. And we all love the idea of going off grid. But that's a big investment up front. We plan to build the house with solar in the future. Plan on 3500-25,000 for a well based on any number of factors. Septic? Around $20,000 ish locally.

There are some log cabin kits out there too, but they cost far more.

Anyway, look into the steel home kits. You can paint them whatever color you want, and there are no internal weight bearing walls, so you can do some really cool floor layouts with big open spaces. I found one place that included a foundation frame so you could self pour which is pretty cool. And saves a ton of money.